Siemens announces 1bn-peso investment

Company intends to drive digitalization and Industry 4.0

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

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German conglomerate Siemens anticipates investing more than one billion pesos (US $53.3 million) on the training and development of Mexican engineers and technicians who specialize in the digital sector, a company vice-president has announced.

The company believes its commitment will enable Mexico to be at the forefront of a new industrial revolution known as Industry 4.0, which encompasses trends towards the increased automation of manufacturing technologies, the internet of things and the use of artificial intelligence.

Iván Pelayo said the company had already spent US $23 million to create the “Ingenuity Lab” at the Technological University of Querétaro (UTEQ), where the next generation of digital experts and entrepreneurs receive an education considered world class in the field.

Further large investments will soon be made to back other innovative projects, he added.

“Siemens is a pioneer in the country in driving the digitalization of the future technicians and engineers of Mexico,” the head of Siemens’ digital division in Mexico said.

“. . . They will contribute their knowledge so that the country joins the Industry 4.0 and is able to consolidate — through digitalization — as the fifth most powerful economy in the world.”

It’s an ambitious target as Mexico is currently the world’s 15th largest economy in terms of gross domestic product, according to figures from the World Bank, but a report from professional services company PwC earlier this year predicted Mexico would be the world’s seventh most powerful country by the year 2050.

The CEO of Siemens in Mexico and Central America also believes that the Ingenuity Lab at UTEQ — with its capacity to teach about industrial computing and automation equipment in a controlled environment — will prepare students to thrive in an increasingly digitalized world.

“This technological infrastructure is used in the main factories, manufacturing plants and public utility energy companies around the world, in the areas of digitalization [and in] advanced manufacturing and energy management, allowing students to carry out [professional] practice in a friendly environment that simulates a real setting,” Louise Goeser said.